Catching up! Bump, Vows, Showers, and Jaunts!

It's very hard for me to believe that my previous post, where I announced the pregnancy, I was 11 weeks down and 29 to go....well, flip that!! I only have a mere 11 weeks left, as I tuck week 29 under my belt.  Just as everyone has said, the time is flying by.  I am in love with being pregnant. While I had a few bouts of morning sickness, all in all, it's been a very special time for me. Atanas has been the best husband a Mama-to-Be could ever ask for. I know that Baby Girl is going to have one amazing father! He's so adorable and loving, that it melts my heart! I get overwhelmed when I think about that fact that I am being used in such an amazing way. As women, we are blessed with this gift of being able to help usher in another life! What an honor. I never thought I would love it like I do. As much as I want to meet Baby Girl, I know that I will miss being pregnant and feeling her every little move each day!

We kicked off our summer by renewing our vows in Macedonia, on June 10th. We had such an amazing time and it was so wonderful to be able to share all of this with all the family in Skopje. Everyone was so gracious.  It was truly a day to be remembered!

Soon after, we spent six weeks in the States, tying up loose ends in DC, Ata's Harley ride through upstate New York, seeing friends in NYC, attending a wedding,  and wrapping things up in Memphis with my baby shower!  That was the best time I have had in a very long time. It was so wonderful to see my greatest friends and family all in one place to celebrate our baby! I am blessed with some of the greatest people on this planet as my friends!  I don't take a single one for granted!

These are the hostesses with the mostest!!!

Since we've returned to Gothenburg, it's just been full steam ahead, as Atanas starts his final year at Chalmers. We can't believe that we have lived in Sweden for over a year now. What an amazing experience this has been and also something neither of us takes lightly.  While we are excited about all that the future holds for us and our growing family, we are trying to slow it down and really enjoy the limited days we have here. Recently, we took a day trip to Stockholm and had the best time! The weather was surprisingly perfect.

Merry Christmas! 11 weeks down, 29 to go!

Atanas and I are so happy to announce that we are expecting!!! This little life should make its appearance around Christmas!! I am so excited I could bust!  Other than being super tired and more hungry than I could ever have imagined, I have been doing well. I have been fortunate enough to not have had a bad experience with morning sickness, YAY!  We went today for our first ultrasound and received our first little visual confirmation that Baby A is there! What an amazing feeling! I am in complete awe!

Yeah, these things work.

Proud Daddy-to-be about to call his family to announce the news! 

Not exactly the most flattering pic, but this is from this morning as I look at our baby for the first time! 

Baby A's first picture! I know, I know, it's about impossible to make it out, but Baby A is there!!

Salt and Light

This past summer as Atanas and I were looking tirelessly for a place to live in Goteborg, we got pretty stressed out and really started to think of other places we could go if there were not places to live in Goteborg. At the very last minute, and I mean last minute, Atanas got a call from his Mom that a co-worker's uncle, that lived in Goteborg, was looking to rent a room in his home. Atanas immediately emailed Slobodan and arranged for us to stay there for a little while, until we found a place of our own.  We were so happy to have found a place to live.  Also, what are the chances of finding a Macedonian family for us to live with in Sweden?? God's providence, that's what!
                   From the moment we landed and Slobodan picked us up at the airport, we could tell this was no ordinary man. Things just got better once we got home and met his wife, Mira. Even though she and I didn't speak the same language, we both agreed that we felt like we had known each other forever. Atanas and I commented many times that they just felt like family right off the bat. Mira said it best the first night we were there that God brought us all together. For something to have happened so "randomly" and to live with perfect strangers, this was a match made in heaven for sure.
                   Mira and Slobodan have become our family here in Sweden! They truly are Salt and Light of the earth! We have never met people so kind, generous and light hearted in all our lives. They are always happy, full of joy and always happy to help out any way they can. Never heard one grumpy thing the whole time we were there!! They have been such a help to us in a country we know NOTHING about!  I wish that everyone could meet them. They are just precious to us.  Nothing we could ever do would be able to repay them for all the kindness they have shown us. We have been in our new apartment for a week and miss them already! If nothing else comes out of our time here in Sweden (except, of course, Atanas' Master's Degree!!) and Europe, we have met some amazing people and ones that we will never forget. It's not by chance that we are here. It's all part of His plan and it could not be more evident.

Toasting on Thanksgiving to our new home.

Mira teaching me how to bake bread! She's an amazing cook!

Slobodan preparing grapes for his wine!

Happy Thanksgiving! Part Two!

 Well, it's almost the day after Thanksgiving here. Most of you are sitting around the table rubbing your very full bellies! Enjoy the moment. Look around and enjoy being there with everyone. Stay as long as you can. It's my favorite time. That is the good stuff; the time after we have eaten and we are all sitting and talking. I miss my family, but had had a great Thanksgiving and one that I will never forget! Atanas and I put together our new bed in our new home. We toasted with champaign and had a pizza for supper!  What a night and it was fabulous. I am so thankful for Atanas and all that we have together! Here are some pics and a short video of the night!

Ikea assembling fool!

Why would you need anything else??

Happy Thanksgiving!!! xoxox

Just before we pop the cork!

and my Happy Toast!!!

...and the Happy Dance...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! Atanas and I are spending this year's holiday in Sweden, but we are there in our hearts. Tonight, as you eat your turkey and dressing, we will be putting together our new bed, so that we can move into our new apartment this weekend. We are so very thankful for our new place and to have such a great family of Macedonians here in Sweden. Slobodan and Mira, the people we have been renting a room from for the past 3 months, have been beyond kind and generous to us. They have become our little family away from our homes. This year, I am so thankful for them and all the guidance and help they have given us.  As much as I would like to be in Memphis right now, I am equally happy to be here with Atanas while we prepare our new home! Love and miss you all very much. We really have amazing families that support and love us so much!

Here are some pics from last year, in Memphis! Oh to be around this table...

Tom, the turkey!

Best table ever!

Catching up with family and friends!

 Love you!

We miss you, Miss Vesna!! xoxo

God's creations.

I went out today to a little island off the coast of Gothenburg, Sweden with Mira and Slobodan. They took me to the tiny area where they keep their fishing boat. It was a very foggy day, so we didn't have very much visibility. I am sure it's just fabulous to look out to the sea on a clear and sunny day. However, I think the weather conditions being misty and foggy, made this all the more vibrant and beautiful. A few snails have made an old mussel shell their home. I can't get over how gorgeous the shell is. Just had to share it. If you click on the image, you can see it larger and it's even more fabulous.

Day 29/30 Black & White

Black and white...When I saw the challenge for today, it got me thinking about color and the absence of it. There is a country song out by Jamey Johnson that is called "In Color".  This song reminded me of when I was little and Daddy would watch those WWII films on TV. I just imagined the whole world in B&W back then, not just photos, but reality. But in this song, he points out that it was all so much more dramatic, amazing and/or terrifying in color. I have attached a video (not the official) of this song and I am proud to say that my very own Uncle Buddy, aka Maurice Edwards is pictured from minutes, 3:26-3:29! 

Shooting in black and white is a bit different from just converting any digital shot from color to black and white. I have to say that I really do love color better. However, Gothenburg is a gray city and it rains a lot. Shooting in black and white seems fitting. 

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 800

Aperture: f/4

Flash: no